Book Review: How to be a Geek Goddess – Practical Advice for Using Computers With Smarts and Style by Christina Tynan-Wood

So there is this award winning writer and editor who has contributed to USA Weekend, Family Circle, and Parenting magazines and has been a columnist for PC World, and PC Magazine. This writer had garnered enough experience and know-how to become a niche expert in many things Geek. So what’s an expert going to do with all the experience? She’s going to answer questions — lots of questions — from her circle of girlfriends, which nicely segues into How to be a Geek Goddess.

Does this book provide anything extra that a good “Dummies” book could not? Yes, Geek Goddess covers not just computer purchases and usage; it also deals with other technologies that can be daunting to the average consumer, male or female. And in chapter 10, entitled "Groovy Gear and Gadgets," author Christina Tynan-Wood explores the worlds of other gadgetry. Here she covers tips on purchasing digital cameras, cell phones, GPS units, MP3 players and more.

Most of the attention however, is on all aspects of computing. Tynan-Wood brings the reader through the purchase (including figuring out what you need), how to find the right salesperson, the set up, the extras, and how to prepare for calling a Help-Desk. She branches into software goodies like tax preparation, security, office applications, and gaming. And throughout, Tynan-Wood presents different cost alternatives, ranging from exclusive niche type products to the basic free (and well functioning) programs.

What impresses here is that Tynan-Wood imparts her knowledge in the book as she would to a friend. Not unprofessionally, rather she writes with the conviction of someone who has tried other options and wants to save the time and eliminate the drama for her friends and by extension, her readers. She fully understands the hesitation to venture into the foreign worlds of online shopping, setting up your own Wi-Fi network, or using a soft phone.

The common sense delivery of techie tidbits in Goddess is certainly not exclusive to what women have been clamoring for. It will appeal to anyone who wants down-to-earth explanations that don’t patronize, nor talk over the heads of the readers. In our new age and political climate of cutting through the BS to the real mechanics of things, How to be a Geek Goddess arrives at the right time.